Updated 9/3/10 

This top 30 list also happens to be the same list as my “list of guys who if you have anyone else as your WR1 or WR2 you’re screwed list” (name pending). No offense to wide receivers 30+, but if you’re in a 10 or 12 team league, you don’t want the 31st or 32nd best wide receivers as your WR2. The players have been broken up into tiers to show which players will have similar production to the player above them and which will not.

 

Tier 1

1. Andre Johnson

Andre Johnson is the best wide receiver for fantasy purposes this year. Larry Fitzgerald is close to his level in terms of talent, but doesn’t have the talent at quarterback that Johnson has. Johnson had 101 catches for 1569 yards and 9 scores last year and 115 catches for 1575 yards and 8 scores the year before so we shouldn’t expect anything different from him this year.

2. Miles Austin

Austin had 81 catches for 1320 yards and 11 touchdowns last year, despite not becoming a starter until week 5. Take his stats weeks 5-17 and stretch them over a 16 game season and you get 101 catches for 1652 yards and 13 scores. That’s pretty good. Also consider the fact that he was drawing a bunch of double teams last year and probably won’t have to deal with that as much this year with Dez Bryant coming in. Johnson is the safer option this year, but I would not be surprised if Austin led receivers in fantasy points this year and I would not be afraid of taking Austin in the late 1^st/early 2^nd round this year.

3. Randy Moss

Randy Moss didn’t try at 100% last year. Even as a Patriots fan, I’ll admit that. Tom Brady also wasn’t a 100% all year, whether it be a finger injury, a rib bruise, or his knee problem. Moss will be playing 100% this year. He’s in his contract year. The last time he was in a contract year and Brady was healthy, Moss exploded for 23 scores. He won’t do that this year, but I think he surpasses his stats overall from last year. Last year he had 83 catches for 1264 yards and 13 scores, even at the age of 33.

4. Calvin Johnson

Johnson didn’t play well last year, but he was hurt so I’m not really going to hold that against him. This is the guy who caught 78 balls for 1331 yards and 12 scores in 2008, as a 23 year old on a 0-16 team with a load of crap at quarterback. If he’s healthy, he could surpass those stats with Matt Stafford at quarterback.

Tier 2

5. DeSean Jackson

DeSean Jackson also will have to deal with a presumed downgrade at quarterback going from Donovan McNabb to Kevin Kolb, although, unlike Leinart who has proven himself to not be very good, 70.8 QB rating in 595 career throws, Kolb is relatively unproven. In Kolb’s two starts last year, Jackson had 250 yards and 2 scores. That’s encouraging, but also a small sample. I think Jackson will be fine this year, but he’s not going to be quite what he was last year, 62 catches for 1159 yards and 9 scores, because I don’t think Kolb’s arm is quite as strong as McNabb’s and Jackson is the definition of a deep threat.

6. Roddy White

White is a reliable guy. He’s had at least 83 catches, 1153 yards, and 6 scores in each of the last 3 seasons. As long as Matt Ryan is still his quarterback, White should be good for 80-90 catches 1100-1200 yards and 8-10 scores.

7. Brandon Marshall

7/30/10: Marshall has been cleared to go full strength for training camp. This is huge for him as he is joining a new team, a new scheme, and pairs with a new quarterback. There’s also a much slimmer chance of any early season struggles for Marshall, who is coming off of a hip injury (you know, the one Josh McDaniels thought he was making up).  

Marshall has had 100 catches and 1100+ yards in each of the past 3 years. However, last year his YPC fell from 13.0 and 12.2 to 11.1 because Denver’s new quarterback, Kyle Orton, didn’t have the arm strength to get the ball down to him downfield like his previous quarterback, Jay Cutler. Chad Henne, his quarterback in Miami, has arm strength that is closer to Cutler’s than Orton’s so I expect to see that YPC go back up. However, the 100 catches actually could be in some jeopardy. Marshall had hip surgery and will miss some of training camp. This is not good for his chemistry with new quarterback Chad Henne and for his adjustment to a new scheme. That being said, he missed some of training camp last year with new quarterback Kyle Orton and Josh McDaniels’ new scheme and still caught 100 balls. He should be a solid fantasy option and borderline WR1.

8. Greg Jennings

7/30/10: In his last 9 games, including the playoffs, he had 42 catches for 745 yards and 3 scores. Over 16 games, that’s 75 catches for 1324 yards and 6 scores. Whether it be him breaking out, or Driver getting older, or the improvement of the Packers line, allowing Rodgers to hit him deep, he was much better in the 2nd half last year. It will only continue this season. Their line improved in the offseason, Jennings is moving into the prime of his career as he turns age 27 in September, and Driver is not only old, but badly hurt. Those 75 catches for 1324 yards and 6 scores seem pretty realistic right now, possibly with even more touchdowns because of how explosive the Packers’ offense is. Expect 70-80 catches 1300-1400 yards and 6-8 scores. 

Jennings struggled a bit last year with 68 catches for 1113 yards and 4 scores.  However, he was a lot better after Clifton and Tauscher returned (as was their entire team it seems). Rodgers had more time in the pocket and more time to get the ball down the Jennings, his deep threat.  In his last 9 games, including the playoffs, he had 42 catches for 745 yards and 3 scores. Over 16 games, that’s 75 catches for 1324 yards and 6 scores. With Clifton and Tauscher healthy for the start of this year, and Bryan Bulaga drafted in case one of them gets hurt, he could get close to those stats this year. Also, Donald Driver is getting up there in age so Jennings could see an increase in targets for that reason as well.

9. Steve Smith (CAR)

8/19/10: Any speculation that Smith and his broken arm would not be ready for the season or not in game shape for the season were destroyed when Smith was surprisingly activated from the PUP list a couple weeks before anyone expected him too. Smith was amazing in the 4 games that he and Matt Moore both started, with 398 yards and 3 scores, despite leaving midway through the 4^th game with his first broken arm of the last 9 months. Smith is surprisingly underrated this year. 

6/29/10: Smith broke his left arm recently. He is expected to return for the regular season, but he’ll miss valuable training time with two quarterbacks, Matt Moore and Jimmy Clausen, who he doesn’t have an extensive history with. He also may not be 100% come regular season. He may be out of shape. His recovery may also run long and he could miss a game or two. I’m knocking him down just a bit.

In the four games Steve Smith played with Matt Moore last year, he had 378 yards and 3 scores, despite leaving midway through the 4^th game with a broken arm. This year, he is either going to have Matt Moore or Jimmy Clausen as his quarterback and I think both of them are better than Jake Delhomme was last year. He has a history of being inconsistent so it’s tough to extrapolate those 4 game stats across 16 games, but if you do, you get 1512 yards and 12 scores. Not bad considering he has had multiple 1400+ yard seasons in his career before. He should be a very solid WR2 and borderline WR1.

10. Reggie Wayne

Wayne is the model of consistency for fantasy football owners. He hasn’t missed a game for any reason since his rookie year, 2001. He has had 1000+ yards and 75+ catches in every season since 2004. His quarterback, Peyton Manning, also never misses games. Like ever. However, he may be wearing down a bit. In his last 10 games last year, including playoffs, he had 3 touchdowns, and only surpassed 100+ yards once. Granted, he was hurt, and he did have to face Darrelle Revis twice, but that’s not encouraging, especially at his age (he’ll be 32 in November) and with Pierre Garcon coming on as their #2 receiver. He should still be a solid WR1, but I don’t think he matches last year’s stats and I don’t think he’s quite a fantasy stud this year.

Tier 3

11. Larry Fitzgerald

8/24/10: Whether it be Leinart or Anderson, the Cardinals couldn’t do anything offensively against the Titans in their 2^nd preseason game. For what it’s worth, Leinart was worse, but they both sucked. With Leinart it was all checkdowns and underthrows and with Anderson it was a bunch of inaccurate overthrows. Fitzgerald is good, but he can’t throw the ball to himself. He also has a lingering knee injury and lingering injuries sapped a lot of his production last year. He may have issues reaching both 1000 yards and 10 touchdowns this year. 

I think Fitzgerald is due for a down year. The last time Matt Leinart was the Cardinals’ starting quarterback, Fitz had 69 catches for 946 yards and 6 scores. Leinart may have gotten a little better since then, but I wouldn’t count on it. Leinart really struggled last season in limited action and even the Cardinals’ themselves aren’t sold on him. That’s why they signed Derek Anderson and have considered signing Marc Bulger. In Leinart’s one start last year, Fitz had 4 catches for 34 yards.

12. Marques Colston

7/30/10: Colston has been placed on the PUP/Active list after failing his conditioning test, following offseason knee surgery. This is his 3rd straight offseason with knee issues so there are concerns here. 

Colston is a boom or bust fantasy player on a weekly basis. He had 6 games of 50 or fewer yards last year, but also 6 games of 75 or more yards. He still ended up with 1000+ yards, but because of how many receivers New Orleans has, the title of Saints #1 receiver given to Colston doesn’t quite mean as much. He is inconsistent, but in every season he’s ever played more than 14 games, he’s had 1000 yards and at his size, 6-4, he should be his team’s primary goal line target.

13. Steve Smith (NYG)

8/10/10: Having Nicks opposite him does hurt him near the goal line, since Nicks is such an athletic goal line presence. Smith is still a lock for 100 receptions and 1000+ yards in my mind as their possession receiver and I love his consistency, but don’t expect him to get into the end zone very much this year. 

Steve Smith is very underrated. If you type “Steve Smith ESPN” into Google, Carolina receiver Steve Smith and retired Miami Heat guard Steve Smith come up before the Giants’ Steve Smith come up. Smith had 57 or more yards in every single game except for 2 last year. That’s consistency. However, there are reasons not to like him. He’s not a goal line threat at 5-11 with only 7 scores last year and with the emergence of 6-1 Hakeem Nicks as a receiver, that could actually go down this year. Smith only had 3 scores after week 5 last year. Coincidentally, week 5 is the week when Hakeem Nicks started getting more and more action. This year, he’s probably a starter and will take away, not only touchdowns, but receptions in general from Smith and Smith is not a YAC or YPC guy who can do a lot without a lot of targets.

14. Malcom Floyd

9/2/10: If Jackson has truly played his last game as a Charger, Floyd’s value goes up even more. He has certainly looked like a #1 receiver this preseason and could match Jackson’s 2009 numbers, 1167 yards and 9 scores. 

7/24/10: While Jackson is out, Floyd has even more time to build a bond with quarterback Phillip Rivers. If he doesn’t have 1000 yards this year, I would be shocked.  

7/9/10: I had him as a sleeper based on the potential that Jackson would get suspended. Now Floyd will be the Chargers #1 receiver for at least 3 weeks next year. This guy already had 34 catches for 525 yards in his 8 starts last year as their #2 receiver, now he has at least 3 weeks of being the #1 guy in that offense and 3 weeks of no Vincent Jackson to take away red zone looks. This guy is a major sleeper and could be a top 15 fantasy wide receiver if Jackson gets traded. 

Malcom Floyd broke out last year at age 28. He had 41 catches for 776 yards and 1 score. That 1 score looks like a fluke because he’s 6-5. I expect more touchdowns for him. Facing his first full season as a starter, 40 catches for 750 yards and 5 scores looks like the floor for him. His ceiling is a lot higher. In his last 8 games, after Chris Chambers’ release officially made him a starter, Floyd had 34 catches for 525 yards. Over 16 games, that’s 68 catches for 1050 yards. Add in the fact that Vincent Jackson could be facing a 4 game suspension to start the season, making Floyd Phillip Rivers’ #1 receiver, and you’ve got yourself a fantasy sleeper.

15. Wes Welker

8/24/10: Good to see him in there and healthy. In fact, if I didn’t see it myself, I wouldn’t have believed that this guy was ever in a freak injury accident week 17 last year. Leading the league in receptions last year despite missing 3 games with injury makes this guy a PPR god, and he’s pretty good in normal leagues too. 

7/24/10: Welker has been cleared for training camp, which pretty much guarantees that Welker, who tore two ligaments on his knee back in January, will be in the starting lineup week 1. For anyone who was smart and listened to me when I said he was my 19^th ranked wide receiver and got Welker in the 8^th, 9^th or 10^th round, congratulations. However, now that the cat’s out of the bag about Welker, he’s going to start going a lot earlier. You won’t be able to get him where you could before. Nonetheless, I do have to move him up even more. Assuming he’s close to 100% and doesn’t get hurt again, Welker, one of the toughest guys in the league, should be good for another 100 receptions and 1000 yards. He’s not a touchdown threat, but he’s a PPR god. This is the man who had 123 receptions for 1348 yards last year despite missing 2 games and most of a 3^rd with injuries. 

6/2/10: I wanted to make sure he was healthy (or healthy ish) before putting him on this list, but Welker did something that amazed me yesterday. He practiced. Less than 5 months after tearing his ACL and MCL and less than 4 months after major knee surgery, Welker was on the field at Patriot OTAs practicing at what reports call “75 percent.” ADP has Welker going as the 21th wide receiver off the board at somewhere around pick 56. I’m putting him at 19 because I think Welker is the type of guy who’s going to exceed expectations. He always does. He’s not an end zone threat, but this is a guy who missed 2 (really 3 because of that first quarterback knee injury week 17) games last year and still caught 123 balls for 1348 yards and 4 scores. I’ll take the chance on him before I take a chance on any of the other guys on this list below him.

 

Tier 4

16. Mike Sims-Walker

Sims-Walker was extremely inconsistent last year. He had 5 games of 30 yards or fewer, thought 6 games of 80 yards or greater. His inconsistencies appear excusable, thanks to injuries and Darrelle Revis and lack of playing time early on, but he may prove this year that he’s just overall an inconsistent guy. It doesn’t help that he’s playing in an inconsistent offense for an inconsistent team. All in all, I think he does better than the 63 catches for 869 yards and 7 scores he had last year, this year, assuming he stays healthy.

17. Anquan Boldin

8/24/10: Boldin only has 2 receptions in his first 2 preseason games and simply is not being targeted as much as Flacco’s longest tenured target, Derrick Mason. This could continue into the season, even though Boldin is more physically impressive. 

Anquan is now the main man in Baltimore, rather than Fitz’ two number in Arizona, so I think he sees an increase in percentage of targets, especially near the goal line. He only had 4 touchdowns last year, which is ridiculous for a 6-1 217 receiver, because Fitzgerald, at 6-3 222, has always been Arizona’s main goal line guy. That won’t be the case this year. However, Baltimore threw 84 fewer times than Arizona last year. One would think that Baltimore will throw more this year, with Joe Flacco maturing more in his 3^rd year, and with some actual deep threat receivers, but if they don’t, Boldin’s numbers could actually decrease across the board, with the exception of touchdowns. My best guess is that he’ll have similar catches, 84, and yards, 1024 than last year, with a few more touchdowns, but he could be a little better and a little worse than that, depending on how often the Ravens throw and how he adjusts to a new scheme and a new quarterback, which is not a given either.

Tier 5

18. Pierre Garcon

I am down on Wayne this year and up on Pierre Garcon. He had some injury issues late, but in the last 9 games he played, including the playoffs, he had 50 catches for 723 yards and 4 touchdowns. Over 16 games, that’s 89 catches, 1285 yards, and 13 scores. He’s going into that magical 3^rd season breakout year (which for some reason never fails) and Wayne is getting older and struggled late last year. I am not guaranteeing a thousand yard season, but I think he very well could have 1000+ yards.

19. Michael Crabtree

Crabtree had everything go wrong for him last year (though most of that was his fault). He missed the first 5 games. He missed training camp so he didn’t practice the offense anywhere near enough before he played and he had to establish chemistry with Alex Smith in a pinch. He also was a rookie and rookie receivers, for the most part, struggle. Yet, he still had 48 catches for 625 yards and 2 scores. Even by adding in those 5 other games at his pace, you’d get 70 catches for 909 yards and 3 scores. However, I think he’ll increase the pace in his 2^nd year, with a greater understanding of the offense and his quarterback, as well as a greater comfortably having gone through his first training camp and not being thrown into action starting week 7. He’ll also increase in terms of touchdowns. He has good size at 6-1 214 and I don’t think Vernon Davis will vulture as many of his scores this year as he did last year. Expect 70-80 catches for 900-1000 yards and 5-7 scores. That makes him a borderline WR2.

20. Dwayne Bowe

Bowe has had a bad past few months. First he was suspended 4 games for performance enhancing drug use and never got back on terms with his team and his quarterback. Then, this month, he made some questionable comments that basically said his team would “import” woman to their hotel rooms on roadtrips. Now, we don’t have to jump to conclusions. Maybe they were being “imported” to make them sandwiches, but it certainly doesn’t look good for him or his team. All that being said, he’s his team’s most talented receiver and I expect him to be the #1 option next year. His quarterback is not very good, but this is the same guy who had 86 catches for 1022 yards and 7 scores in 2008 with Tyler Thigpen at quarterback. Hell, even Chris Chambers had 608 yards and 4 scores in 9 games as the #1 option last year. There’s always a chance that Chambers comes out as the #1 option or as a 1B option or that Dexter McCluster steals a good chunk of receptions. Weirder things have happened in Kansas City. However, I think Bowe has a good chance to get back to that 1000 yard mark, though he is a boom or bust type player.

21. Hakeem Nicks

8/10/10: Reports say Mario Manningham is likely to be the Giants new punt returner, which makes it less and less likely that Manningham is going to start over the 2^nd year Hakeem Nicks this year. Nicks is also getting the first team reps in training camp. My biggest concern with Nicks was not talent, but getting on the field, but I think it’s safe to say he’ll be their #2 receiver when the season starts. Nicks was tied with Percy Harvin for the lead in rookie receiving yards and receiving touchdowns last year despite not being a starter for most of the year so Nicks could approach 1000 yards and 8-10 touchdowns as his team’s main goal line threat. 

A lot to like and a lot not to like. Nicks actually was tied for the lead in rookie receiving yards with Harvin last year, despite not being a starter for most of the season. He’s probably going to be a starting receiver this year, with Mario Manningham in the slot. His frame at 6-1 makes him likely to be his team’s favorite goal line wideout and we’ve seen the success that receivers like big receivers like Plaxico Burress have had with Manning before. He’s a big YAC and YPC guy with 16.8 YPC last year and 18.0 YPC in his finale year in college, so he can do a lot without getting a ton of targets. In fact, he only had 71 targets all last year and still managed to get 790 yards. More than 50% of his yards (423) were in YAC. He also had 8 games of 4 of more catches in 14 games last year, very consistent for a rookie. However, YPC and YAC notoriously fluctuate somewhat from year to year. He’s also not even a lock to be a starter on his team.

22. Terrell Owens

8/19/10: Owens has definitely appeared the Batman to Ocho’s Robin, with 10 targets for 6 catches and 41 yards, as opposed to Ocho’s 3 targets for one 4 yard reception. I’m calling Owens the #1 guy in Cincinnati this year, though he’ll have plenty of other receivers to compete with. 

7/27/10: Owens has officially signed. It appears he will beat out the injury prone Antonio Bryant for a starting job and with a real quarterback this year, it wouldn’t be ridiculous to believe he could go for 900+ yards. Consider him a late WR2 or early WR3. 

The Rams are reportedly very interested in Terrell Owens. He remains a sleeper and a good value for now so I’d say draft him in the late rounds. He will have a rookie quarterback in Sam Bradford, but last year he had 829 yards and 5 scores on a crappy offensive team with a quarterback who didn’t have the arm strength to hit him deep. At least Bradford has a stronger arm than Trent Edwards or even Ryan Fitzpatrick, with whom he had a good bond with late. He could be a borderline WR3 this year. In 9 games where Fitzpatrick threw more than 20 passes, Owens had 534 yards and 4 scores. Stretch that over 16 games and you’ve got 949 yards and 7 scores. If he signs with the Rams, 800-900 yards and 5-7 scores isn’t crazy to expect.

23. Chad Ochocinco

8/19/10: Ochocinco has looked downright horrible in the preseason so far, looking significantly older and slower than Owens. There’s no doubt that Owens is the better receiver, at least now. That may change in a few weeks. 

7/27/10: I think Ocho and TO can coexist on the same team, but that doesn’t mean Ocho won’t have a decrease in production. Owens is better than Bryant, who would have been lining up across from him before. We saw what happened to Lee Evans after he teamed up with Owens last year. He had 405 fewer yards. Ochocinco is more talented than Evans and Carson Palmer is more talented than anyone Buffalo had at quarterback, but Ochocinco is far from a lock from 1000 yards anymore, especially with the addition of other guys like Jordan Shipley and Jermaine Gresham to his offense around him.  

There are a few reasons not to like Chad Eight Five this year. The Bengals brought in a ton, and I mean a ton, of receivers this offseason, Antonio Bryant, Jermaine Gresham, Jordan Shipley, Dezmon Briscoe, Matt Jones. That will take double teams away from Ocho, but you can’t argue that having a capable #2 a capable slot guy and a capable tight end in there is not going to cut down on his targets and I think that hurts him more than it helps him. He’s also 32 and not getting any younger. He should still get 60-80 catches, 1000+ yards and 8-10 scores, but he’s no lock any more.

24. Hines Ward

9/3/10: Ward has long been Big Ben’s favorite receiver so he of course gets a stock boost with Ben’s suspension getting cut. 

Hines Ward is due for a bad year. First, Big Ben is not going to start the first 6 games. In the 2 games Big Ben has missed over the last 4 years, Ward has a combined 8 catches for 100 yards and a score. Not exactly anything to get excited about. Ward is also 34 and will have a hard time keeping up the stats he had last year, which, in terms of catches and yards, were his 2^nd highest stats in his career. Before last year, he had only had 1 1000+ yard seasons in the last 4 and hadn’t had an 1100+ yard season since 2003, when he was 27. Ward also has a bad hamstring injury and hamstring injuries tend to linger longer than most.

25. Derrick Mason

8/24/10: Despite all the new weapons the Ravens gave Joe Flacco this offseason, he’s still doing what he knows how to do best in the preseason, throwing it to Derrick Mason. Mason only has one season of 1000 yards or less in the past 10 years and could challenge for another 1000 yard season this year, even with all these new weapons around him. Even if he doesn’t get 1000 yards, he’ll be close and he’s extremely undervalued this year.

Tier 6

26. Mike Wallace

9/3/10: An amazing player this preseason, Wallace gets his starting quarterback back 2 weeks earlier and thus is a great sleeper. He’s a WR2 when Ben’s in the lineup. 

Wallace is another boom or bust guy (as Nicks was before him and the next two after him will be). Wallace had 39 catches for 756 yards and 6 scores last year as a rookie and a slot receiver. He will be Pittsburgh’s #2 this year with Santonio Holmes. However, with any role change, there’s always some risk. He’ll have more targets, but also face more and better coverage and more and better attention from opposing defenses. Also, not having Big Ben and his big arm for 6 games to get him the ball downfield hurts. His 19.4 YPC is also pretty scary. YPC tend to fluctuate from year to year. I can’t imagine him keeping that up so he’ll probably have to catch significantly more balls to increase his yards.

27. Robert Meachem

Meachem was not the most consistent guy last year, with 6 games of 20 or fewer yards. A lot of that had to do with the fact that he was not a starter until midseason, but even when he was a starter, he was inconsistent, with 6 games of 2 or fewer catches after week 10, including playoffs. The Saints have way too many receivers to consider anyone other than Colston a safe WR2 bet. The only reason Meachem was a good fantasy option last year was he had 9 touchdowns, 7 in his last 9 games, but that’s no safe bet either. Touchdowns for receivers have a knack for being very inconsistent on a yearly basis and the fact that New Orleans has so many other good receivers doesn’t help with the inconsistencies.

28. Santana Moss

Moss has 790 or more yards in each of the last 7 years. Over this time, he has had Vinny Testaverde, Chad Pennington, Patrick Ramsey, Mark Brunell (age 35), Todd Collins, and Jason Campbell as his quarterbacks. Now he has Donovan McNabb. McNabb, overall is a better quarterback than any of those 6, and he has a significantly stronger arm than all 6 of those as well. This is going to allow Moss to get more deep bombs, increasing his pedestrian 14.9 YPC and allowing him to show off all of his natural 4.3 speed. He’s not a touchdown threat at 5-10, but he’s still a very talented player in a great position as McNabb’s #1 option and could very well have his 4^th career 1000+ yard season. It’s not like he hasn’t had one in a while. He had one just two years ago in 2008.

29. Jeremy Maclin

8/15/10: Maclin was the most targeted Eagles receiver when Kolb was in the game, a very good sign because I wasn’t sure how the talented 2^nd year receiver would mesh with his new quarterback, given his inexperience. 

Maclin ended last year strong with 50+ yards in each of his last 7 games and 40+ in each of his last 10 and one would expect him to get better in his 2^nd year. However, there’s no telling how he’ll adjust to a new quarterback. The downgrade from McNabb to Kolb could hurt him. Consider him a boom or bust guy.

30. Percy Harvin

8/29/10: When healthy, Harvin is the Vikings best receiver, now that Sidney Rice has gone down with a hip injury. It’s definitely a good sign that he has been practicing and now playing in games without issues and the news that doctors may have found a sort of cure for his migraines is great for his fantasy value. If healthy, he’s a strong WR2 with Rice out. 

8/19/10: After passing out at training camp, it’s become painfully obvious that Harvin is nowhere near ready for live NFL action. He remains a major health risk for this season and I can think of plenty of better things to do with a mid round pick than use it on Harvin. It is sad though, because he’s got plenty of talent. 

8/10/10: Harvin’s chronic migraines are looking like something that could be a major issue for him. He hasn’t practiced in over a week because of them and there appears to be no end in sight. If his migraines ever flared up like this in the season, like they did last year, he would miss games and that would hurt him. This looks like a very concerning situation for the 2^nd year receiver. 

8/6/10: Hey, you know that whole Brett Favre retiring thing. Turns out it was pretty much a hoax. Even though no one in the media heard it straight from his mouth that he was retiring, the entire world went into a panic and assumed he was retiring because of some alleged text messages.

8/3/10: Downgrade at quarterback = less stats.  

Anyone who just watches ESPN and doesn’t know stats or Harvin would take a chance on Harvin way early than he should. ESPN loves Harvin because of his big play ability. However, the 2009 offensive rookie of the year only had 790 yards and 6 scores last year. He also had 135 yards rushing last year, but Minnesota has said they no longer play to use him in the wildcat, probably because they drafted wildcat quarterback Joe Webb in the 6^th. He also had 6 games of 41 or fewer yards and he has a very dubious injury history.